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Trump Nation says controversial immigration order is no surprise to them

The people who elected Donald Trump president say the furor over his executive order on immigration is nothing compared to the one he’d cause if he did nothing to crack down on travel into the country from nations linked with terrorism.

The people who elected Donald Trump president say the furor over his executive order on immigration is nothing compared to the one he’d cause if he did nothing to crack down on travel into the country from nations linked with terrorism.

“This is exactly what he promised during the campaign,’’ said A. D. Amar, a college professor who immigrated to the U.S. decades ago from India. “If he did not do this, I and many other of his supporters would have been disappointed.’’

That, in the Trump camp, is putting it mildly.

If Trump backed down, “I would be furious,’’ said Barbara Cope, a retired hospital employee who lives in Elmwood Park, N.J. “I’d say, ‘This is what you ran on! You lied like all the other politicians!’’’

Trump’s order prohibits entry by all refugees for four months and by Syrian refugees indefinitely, and it calls for “extreme vetting" in the future. It also bars any visitors for three months from seven nations deemed to be sources of terrorism, all of which have Muslim majority populations. Other nations with Muslim majorities whose citizens have committed terror attacks, such as Saudi Arabia, were not covered by the order.

At least part of the backlash against Trump’s order focused on the haste in which it was issued; the confusion it created, especially at airports; and the impression it gave of America turning its back on the world.

But Gene Dunn, a longtime Trump supporter who lives on Long Island, decried what he called the ‘’whining about all the ‘chaos” being caused by the travel ban. “If you want chaos,’’ he said, “watch what happens when some ISIS maniac yells, ‘Allah Akbar!’ and proceeds to mow down innocent Americans with a machine gun, bomb, big construction truck, or God forbid, one day with WMDs.’’

Despite the inconvenience or hardship caused by the order, “with something like this, there’s gonna be some toes stepped on,’’ said Michael McCoy, a saw mill owner who lives outside Weaverville, in the mountains of western North Carolina. He’s one of many registered Democrats who voted for Trump. Now he's a registered Republican.

“Trump caught the population off guard on this,’’ Amar said. “People did not expect it to happen so soon.’’

People chant slogans at the Indianapolis International Airport, on Jan. 29, 2017, during a protest against President Trump's executive order temporarily suspending all immigration for citizens of seven majority Muslim countries for 90 days.(Photo: Kelly Wilkinson, AP)

McCoy was among those who admitted he was confused by what seemed like a complex issue, and he expressed dismay over the case of a South Carolina college student who was stranded by the order. “I don’t truly understand international travel, because I don’t do it,’’ he said. But, he added, the order and the process it set in motion “seems over-complicated to me. This nation is great at over-complicating things.’’

Amar, however, said there was no way the order could have been worded or issued that would have placated Trump’s critics. “The reaction is very much based on the side to which one belongs,’’ said Amar, who teaches business at Seton Hall University and lives in rural Warren County, N.J. “When I hear some opposition, I find that the individuals voted for Clinton. Those who support it are Trump voters.’’

And they like what they’re seeing. According to a Quinnipiac poll, although Trump's job approval among all Americans has slumped to 36% — the lowest on comparable record — since the inauguration his stock has risen among Republicans from 76% approval two weeks ago to 81%.

After the election, it seemed Trump might get a pass on many of his campaign promises. This was because his supporters’ loved him so much, because his opponents hated his proposals so much, and because of a general acknowledgement that Trump the campaigner was best taken seriously but not literally.

And at first the president-elect seemed inclined to take the pass. He said he wouldn’t necessarily build a wall along every inch of the Mexican border; would focus deportation efforts not on all illegal immigrants, but on those with criminal records; and try to retain some redeeming facets of Obamacare.

Then he took office.

“Only a person like Trump could do such bold things,’’ said Amar. Cope knew why: “Because he has the toughest skin — tougher than snakeskin.’’

11-year-old Frank "FX" Giaccio gets a pat on the back from Trump while mowing the lawn in the Rose Garden of the White House on Sept. 15, 2017. Giaccio wrote a letter to Trump expressing admiration for Trump's business background and offered to mow the White House lawn.
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President Trump holds the state flag of Texas outside of the Annaville Fire House after attending a briefing on Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Aug. 29, 2017.
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Trump holds a proclamation for Made in America Day and Made In America Week that he signed during a product showcase in the East Room of the White House on July 17, 2017.
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Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Room of the White House on June 14, 2017, to talk about the shooting in Alexandria, Va., where House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others were shot during a congressional baseball practice.
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Trump smiles as he walks with his daughter Ivanka across the South Lawn of the White House on June 13, 2017, before boarding Marine One helicopter for the trip to nearby Andrews Air Force Base.
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President Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan and other congressional Republicans celebrate in the Rose Garden of the White House following the House vote to repeal Obamacare on May 4, 2017.
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Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke listens while Trump speaks before signing an executive order to review the Antiquities Act at the Department of the Interior on April 26, 2017.
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Trump prepares to award a Purple Heart to U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvaro Barrientos, with first lady Melania Trump, right, and Tammy Barrientos, second from right, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on April 22, 2017, in Bethesda, Md.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, President Trump, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Patriots President Jonathan Kraft stand with Patriots players as Trump holds a team helmet at a ceremony honoring the Patriots as Super Bowl champions on the South Lawn at the White House on April 19, 2017.
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President Trump, flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Vice President Pence, speaks about the health care overhaul bill on March 24, 2017, in the Oval Office.
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Trump gets in the driver's seat of an 18-wheeler while meeting with truck drivers and trucking CEOs on the South Portico prior to their meeting to discuss health care at the White House on March 23, 2017.
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Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk down the Cross Hall to enter the East Room for a joint press conference at the White House on March 17, 2017.
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Trump holds up a note and drawing depicting him that was created by the child of Greg Knox of Ohio during a meeting on health care in the Roosevelt Room on March 13, 2017.
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Trump walks with grandchildren Arabella Kushner and Joseph Kushner, holding a model of Marine One, across the South Lawn of the White House on March 3, 2017, before boarding Marine One helicopter for the short flight to nearby Andrews Air Force Base.
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Trump reaches out to shake hands with Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 20, 2017, where Trump announced that McMaster will be the new national security adviser.
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White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Vice President Pence look on as Trump speaks briefly to reporters after greeting Harley Davidson executives on the South Lawn of the White House on Feb. 2, 2017.
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Trump reads from one of the executive orders he signed during a visit to the Department of Homeland Security with Vice President Mike Pence, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and other officials in Washington on Jan. 25, 2017.
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President Trump holds a letter left for him by former president Barack Obama as Vice President Pence looks on before the swearing-in of the White House senior staff on Jan. 22, 2017.
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Trump is joined by the congressional leadership and his family as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law in the Presidents Room of the Senate on Jan. 20, 2017.
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